New Perspective
by Sarge
Summary: Logan needs Max to help him again, and this time they have a common interest in the problem
1. New Perspective 1/5

A lone female stood staring out upon the once great city, but she wasn't all that sad. No she came up here to think, and that was what was important. The thinking. In a world that was most likely hunting her, not that they had a reason to be, the fact that she was a experiment of course had nothing to do with it. they just wanted her for her charm and good looks. Right and tomorrow the United States would go back to being the great and perfect nation again. Finally the female who could be no more then 21 climbed down from what had once been the Space Needle in Seattle Washington. Had once been. It wasn't anymore. No the nuclear blast had taken care of that. As she climbed down a small gadget on her started going off. She sighed, but headed toward her motorcycle.

When she reached the building she climbed off and headed up the stairs to find Logan. Why at 2:00 in the morning he wanted to talk to her was beyond her. Maybe he finally had information on Zack, but somehow she doubted it.

"What do you have Logan that is so important?" the female asked as she walked into a room full of computers and with one person confined to a wheel chair watching the door intently.

"Glad you could make it Max," Logan answered the female, "I have another favor to ask."

"Wonderful, sense you managed to find Hannah I'll call that payment for the last one, but I want information on the others for this one," Max told Logan as she stood where she was glaring at him defiantly. 

"I would have given it to you if I had it,"Logan explained patently, "But I didn't. So are you going to help or not?"

"What is it?" Max asked as she took one step closer. She wasn't going any closer then that. She was quite sure that she could notice all of Logan's wonderful looks if she wasn't fidgeting right next to him wondering what if.

"Well lets just say that we have more rich people to deal with that got there once more by making money of the death of other people. Innocent people I might add," Logan told her. This really wasn't anything new to her. In fact it was almost her life story, but she refrained for mentioning that.

"Who where, and how dead do you want them?" Max asked Logan. He gave information she took care of it. Logan had gotten his spine blown up. Max didn't think it had been that great a move, but hey he didn't seem to mind as long as Max was willing to help him out.

"See one of them was a doctor, he's not anymore. Got to rich decided to retire. One of the first 20 people to do so in this decade. Surprised you didn't see it in the paper." Logan told her. "Anyway, he gave people in critical condition the wrong treatment because the administrator said that it would put people out of their misery faster. The people died. They might have lived if it hadn't been done."

"So the doctor and the administrator?" Max asked, "Where?"

"You won't get in to see them by yourself," Logan told her, "You need someone who needs medical treatment."

"Actually I can see them on my own," Max muttered as she turned toward the door, "Thanks you might be doing my friends a favor on this one."

"And what if the doctor decided that they wouldn't mind being put out of their misery?" Logan asked as she walked toward the door, "Are you going to risk that?"

Sadly as much as Max liked to pretend that she didn't care about her friends as much as she did, it was pretty much a known fact by Logan that she did. She didn't like to see innocent people harmed, and her friends counted.

"Alright," Max said as she leaned against the wall, "I trust you have a plan?"

"I do in fact," Logan told her smiling, "You take me."

"I think your spin injury did something to your brain as well." Max deduced. "Because ever sense you just come up with the craziest of ideas."

"No, it makes sense. They'll see me as injured and you as well I haven't really thought of a cover for you yet, but they'll see me, and you'll come in with me, and then you do your thing and we've helped man kind out once more," Logan told her, "So what do you think?"

"I think it's crazy." Max told him. "Some people other then you have got to know something about this. Which means that they most likely have been attacked before, and therefore most likely got around armed. We all know what happens then."

"Hey, that wasn't really my fault." Logan defended, "It was just bad timing."

"Bad planning you mean," Max corrected, "The only way it would be convincing is if I went in there as your girlfriend, and who may I ask in their right mind would believe that?"

"Susan believed it," Logan pointed out, "How many people that have scene us talk ask afterward if we are dating?"

"To many," Max answered keeping herself away from his advancing chair, "but fine. You want to put your life at risk for a few dead people, I'll help you out."

"Good grab your stuff," Logan said as he moved toward the door, "We'll take my car."

"Just a minute," Max said as she stopped him by leaning down, "We're going now? I have work in an hour."

"Max, they are getting out of the country in about three hours. It's now or never," Logan told her.

"Fine, but you are going to owe me if I get fired," Max promised as she walked behind him to the door, "This would be so much easier if I could take my motorcycle." 

"And you call me stupid," Logan muttered so that Max could hardly hear him.

"Hey I heard that," Max told him, "I'm a big girl Logan. Plus I know how to drive."

So began what would become Max's third mission for Logan, and she thought it was getting into what could quickly become a habit, one that her friends might start thanking Logan for. Somehow she had began to look forward to it already because something in them always challenged her. Maybe this time she'd be too challenged, but really she didn't think a doctor and his administrator would be that hard to deal with. Pulling off being Logan's girlfriend might be a little harder, because she'd be reminding herself that after all it's just a mission it's not real. Then again, Max thought I bet the army said the same thing when they created me. Why should we care she's just an experiment. 


	2. New Perspective 2/5

TITLE: New Perspective

AUTHOR: Sarge

E-MAIL: sarge2525@hotmail.com 

RATING: pg-13

SUMMARY: Logan once more asks Max to help him, but this time she has a common interest in the problem.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters. James Cameron, and the other guy who's name I sadly can't remember do. As well as Fox.

  


When Max and Logan got to the hospital Logan was looking at her with a slight smile on his face.

"What are you smiling at?" Max asked Logan, "I thought you didn't like these scumbbags."

"I don't," Logan answered thinking that she wasn't going to like the news that he was going to bring up now, "You do remember that you actually have to act like my girlfriend right?"

"Look just because I've never had a boyfriend doesn't mean that I don't know how to be someone's girlfriend." Max answered as they started going into the building. "What about you? I mean you have to act like you like me."

"I don't think that'll be to hard," Logan told her as he watched her walk in front of him. He wasn't minding the view.

Max walked up to the desk and glared at the nurse waiting there.

"We're here to see Dr. Poodle," Max told her, "Our appointment is for 9:30."

"Yes, your listed. I'll take you back to the room he'll be seeing you in." the nurse got up and they followed her. Max hung back around Logan who was sulking in truth with his character.

"It'll be alright baby," Max said glad that she was trained for this sort of thing. Logan let the look on his face slip into shock for a few seconds before regaining his composer, "I'm sure Dr. Poodle can help us."

"Help me." Logan corrected still sulking, "Your not the one in pain. Not the one who can't even walk anymore because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just because you wanted me to come visit, and then didn't show up!"

Logan was doing quite the good job of creating a scene. He was sure that the doctor was going to fall for it.

"Wasn't I the one that stuck by you, and helped you?" Max demanded playing the slightly upset girlfriend as she moved in closer, "I love you, and I'm never going to leave you. Not even if the doctor can't help you."

"I'm sure I can help him," Dr. Poodle said as he walked into the room, "How depressed has he been lately?"

"We have to go and see a councilor about his suicide attempts next," Max told the doctor calmly.

"Well, it's nice to see that you still care about him," Dr. Poodle told her, "So many girls would leave their guy if something like this happened."

"I know. You wouldn't believe how many guys hit on me," Max told the doctor sadly, "But I am so loyal to him. I just don't see how I could leave him."

"Right, sure you are now, but how long are you going to stay around if he can't help me?" Logan demanded, " Another week. Then what? Leave me to fend for myself in this world?"

"I would never leave you," Max objected as she kneeled down next to him, "I wouldn't betray you like that."

"That's why your already cheating on me," Logan snarled, "I swear I should have just killed myself and put myself out of the pain instead of letting you do this to me."

Logan could tell that the doctor was taking this bait hook line and sinker. They'd have two less scumbags come morning, and Max would have helped him again. Only this time he didn't have anything to give her. Logan wondered how much longer he could bribe Max into helping him. Especially after this one. He should have come up with a different plan, only he really liked this plan. Being so close to Max wasn't a bad thing.

This was the time that Dr. Poodle chose to intervene. He didn't like the direction that this conversation between the two of them was going.

"I can help you," Dr. Poodle promised them, "I just need to get authorization. I'm sure that you'll both be very pleased with the results."

Dr. Poodle walked into an office connected to the room that they were in and closed the door behind him. Max moved closer to the door and listened to his short conversation with the hospital administrator. She turned toward Logan.

"He got approval," Max announced as she to the other side of the door, "They don't know what to do with me though. Might have me join you."

"Where's the logic in that?" Logan asked, "you don't fit the victim profile."

"I think that they believed you when I'm cheating. Plus if you die right in front of me due to a shot they give you what would most people logically do?"

"Head to the cops," Logan admitted, "So do you have a plan?"

"Yes," Max answered, "It's really to bad that Dr. Poodle is such a depressed man, and that our loyalty to each other pushed him over the edge."

When Dr. Poodle walked out of the office holding a syringe, Max didn't give him time to notice her, she just pulled him grabbed his hand and jammed the needle right into his throat. He dropped dead almost instantly. Max didn't react she just moved into the office and picked up the phone and dialed the administrator whom was also a doctor.

"Hello am I speaking to Dr. Buttons?" Max asked calmly.

"Yes, this is Dr. Buttons speaking," the voice from the other end of the line said calmly, "Can I help you with something?"

"I'm the person that was just in to see Dr. Poodle. Now your going to come down to his office without telling anyone or Dr. Poodle won't be alive much longer."

"I'll be right down," Dr. Buttons promised and hung up the phone. 

Max began to search and didn't take her much longer to find another syringe which she threw at the door when it opened. Two dead Scumbags. Her work for the day was done.

"Well that about raps this party up," Max told Logan, "I'm sure that if you root through the desk you'll find lots more incriminating evidence." 

"Thank you Max," Logan told her as he watched her wander around the room, "You did a good thing today and you saved a lot of peoples lives."

"Logan did it occur to you that maybe some of those people really wanted to die?" Max asked him, "Because I'm sure some did. Didn't you ever want to? Even for just a second?"

"Nah I tried death," Logan told her, "Got my spine blown up instead. Guess that's the price you pay. Like I said I'll get you information as soon as I can on whatever I can."

Suddenly Max was moving across the room toward the wall with a speed Logan didn't expect mumbling to herself as she stopped, and looked at the wall in shock.

"I can't believe it," Max announced, "Logan."

Logan was surprised by the look of shock on her face. It was something he had never really scene on her before and he instantly started to move toward her. Logan had the idea that whatever was on the wall was important which made this more then a case of overly exuberant doctors.


	3. New Perspective 3/5

TITLE: New Perspective

AUTHOR: Sarge

E-MAIL: sarge2525@hotmail.com 

RATING: pg-13

SUMMARY: Logan once more asks Max to help him, but this time she has a common interest in the problem.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters. James Cameron, and the other guy who's name I sadly can't remember do. As well as Fox.

  


"Max what's wrong?" Logan asks as he looks at the wall she is staring at. It had a lot of pictures having to do with the neck and spine. Guess that made sense. Then Max pointed to a certain picture. It was a neck and on the neck was a barcode. 

Max took the picture down carefully and examined it. She was pretty sure that the number was Zack, but she wouldn't know until Logan ran it. She just had to know what Dr. Poodle had to do with one of the Manticore children.

Logan was looking at the picture as best he could, and because of that he couldn't see Max's face and what she was thinking, so when she turned suddenly and almost tripped over him he backed up hastily surprised to see her look at him with a pleading look.

"I need you to find out which one this is, and when it was taken," Max told Logan, "Then I want you to call me and let me know. I want to know exactly what Dr. Poodle here had to do with one of my sibs, and why."

Max watched Logan carefully for any sign that he would actually do this. Max knew that Logan didn't have anything for her this time, and if it came down to it she would make him do this for her. Nothing was more important to her then finding her sibs, well other then her life. Max had a disturbing thought that maybe just maybe Logan was going to make his way onto the list of people she actually cared about if she wasn't careful. Maybe she should take this to the private detective guy instead.

Logan was watching Max carefully as well. He didn't want to lose her help, and he could already see doubt flickering across her face. There was also the small matter of the fact that he was actually starting to like her. Guess that's a side effect of having someone work for you, and show up all the time. To bad he hadn't worked a kiss in while trying to play her boyfriend. Then again he might have ended up worse then he was now. Logan made the decision to help her, and reached out for the picture taking it from her and looking at it.

"I'll help you Max," Logan told her, "I'll find out who's in the picture, and when it was taken on one condition."

"What?" Max asked as she glared at him, "Because you haven't given me anything for this job yet."

"If I find out who this person is, you won't go off and do anything stupid. As in no going off to some island to save someone you knew for three hours," Logan explained, "You can't put yourself in danger like that."

"It wasn't stupid to go and save Hannah," Max objected, "She's an innocent person and they would have killed her just to get to me. Are you saying that me actually helping someone was the wrong thing to do? This coming from you. I don't believe it."

"Look, Max I understand that Hannah was an innocent person, but you risked her life in the first place by looking for her." Logan told her. "She would have been fine if you had never contacted her, or at least waited until we knew what we were up against."

"You keep saying this we." Max observed. "There is no we. As far as I know this is me helping you, and you helping me."

"Fine, I"ll agree that saving Hannah was the right thing to do. However, I don't think you needed to drag Eric into it."

"Your right I didn't," Max told him, "It was his fault really. He heard me say that I was going and told me he had an uncle that worked for the sector police and I figured. Hey less personal danger. Lets rock."

"You know if they ever do catch you, you should complain about the fact that you don't have lie detecting genes." Logan muttered, "Maybe I'll save them the trouble."

"You wouldn't turn me in," Max said knowingly. "To much risk."

"What if eyes only said something about Manticore?" Logan asked.

"They'd kill you." Max stated. "That risk isn't worth it. The others would come and the military would be waiting. We'd never all make it."

"Fine, but next time you go to do something that puts more people in danger then yourself I don't suggest you bring your boyfriend. Relationships don't usually last once they realize that the person they are dating can swim to an island without coming up for air, and are hunted my the military."

"You are jealous of Eric aren't you?" Max asked in surprise, "I can't believe these. Cindy is right."

"I'm not jealous I just care about innocent people. By the way how come you told him you were going and not me?" Logan asked, "Because believe I could have been more helpful."

"Don't I know it," Max said sarcastically, "He said he had a uncle that worked for the sector police. I didn't want to get noticed."

"That worked out wonderfully for you didn't it?" Logan asked her, "Alright like I said, I'll do this for you, but right now I want your word, nothing stupid until you know what your getting into."

"Fine I promise that I won't do anything that I think is dumb unless I know what I'm getting into."Max answered.

"I didn't say what you think is stupid I said what..." Logan trailed off as he realized that Max was no longer in the room with him anymore, "I thought was stupid."

Logan sat there for awhile and thought about what had just happened. At least he had the foresight to block the security cameras before this. Otherwise the police might actually have a way to track down Max. Max, that aggravating girl. Did she have any idea just how much trouble she could land herself in? Probably. Then again she always seemed to be finding her way out of it. As long as she could stay at least one step ahead of everyone else she was ok, but Logan got the distinct impression that people were starting to catch up to her, and he also noticed that he was starting to care for her in more then a sort of you help me I help you sort of way. It was a pity that she wouldn't let herself do the same thing. Then again given time maybe she'd let go of whatever she was holding in. Logan headed out of the building he put the picture underneath the shirt he was wearing so that no one would see him take it. He had Zack's number on file, but sadly it had been filed incorrectly and he had just sent it into storage. Max wasn't going to like that news at all.


	4. New Perspective 4/5

TITLE: New Perspective

AUTHOR: Sarge

E-MAIL: sarge2525@hotmail.com 

RATING: pg-13

SUMMARY: Logan once more asks Max to help him, but this time she has a common interest in the problem.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters. James Cameron, and the other guy who's name I sadly can't remember do. As well as Fox.

Max couldn't believe that she was doing this. She was sure that she was insane. Why couldn't she have just waited for Logan to page her like she should have? Well first she thought that he might be holding out until he had another errand to run and try to sucker her into it which he couldn't do if she wasn't there and if she came before he had a job then she got out of the next one even though this most recent one had been helpful to her. Another reason was that honestly she had missed him. It wasn't like they were even friends so the reason for her missing him was beyond her in fact she was sure that if Logan knew he would laugh at her.

Logan sat in his office that was in his apartment wondering what Max was doing. True if Max knew she'd probably laugh because she wasn't on one of his assignments for her, and therefore he shouldn't be worried about her, but if you knew the only person that could currently help you was being hunted most of the time you would worry to. Then again even if she did stop by now he would have a problem because he didn't have any information for her. That was the bad part. No matter how much he thought it was a good idea to have her come visit he knew she wanted to know what was in the picture and until he got Zach's file back from storage he was in big trouble. Not that this was anything new.

Max got to the door of Logan's appartement and simply walked in. You know you'd think that the guy who was Eyes Only would be more paranoid, but he wasn't. Then again even if it had been locked she could have gotten in, and so could most of the people that were after him. I guess that made the point pretty much pointless.

"So what do you have for me?" Max asked as she walked into the room wondering if he would have anything, and if he did if he would lie and say no until he had anther job he could have her do for him.

"I know that all 12 of the Manticore's that escaped are still in the United States. That makes them easier to track down." Logan told her.

"How do you know that they're all still here?" Max asked as she moved closer to him looking for the file he would have put the information into. "Did any of them ever leave?"

"I checked the records of those who left the country. Children under the age of 18 are never allowed to leave the country without parental consent, and even if some of them did get taken in, I doubt that they would want them to leave."

"We could have smuggled ourselves out." Max said glaring at him for stating in an indirect way that the others were incapable of taking care of themselves, "We were trained to stay out of enemy range."

"This from the one who's currently in danger from them." Logan told her, "Seems the idea of the suicides didn't fly with the police department. They are looking for a killer, and sadly one of the nurses pointed out the missing picture, and now the military is involved. They know now Max. More then they did before."

"They'll never link it to us though right?" Max asked, "Besides they don't have proof that it's murder. No one saw me do it. Even if someone did if they knew what those two were like they'd keep quite."

"Max are you listening to a work that I am saying?" Logan asked her, "They know that you are in Seattle, and they now know that you know about the others."

"They already knew that," Max objected, "My detective's place was bugged a few weeks ago. Now we have to worry about how much they find out with that knowledge."

"Maybe we should lay low on the search for awhile. Not drop it, but not go so headlong into it." Logan suggested, "Max they will do almost anything to get you back. What do you think happened with Hannah."

"Look, I don't care what they want, I care about finding the others." Max told him firmly, "And if you can't help me with that, or you won't help me with that just let me know. I have to find the others Logan. They are the parts of that puzzle you were talking about."

"What would your friends think if I had to go and tell them one day that you got yourself killed?" Logan asked her, "Max you have to be more careful. They will find you if your not, and then they will hunt you, and there is no chance that you will make it out alive without some sacrifices."

"I seem to remember this speech in a different context," Max said thoughtfully, "Only it was me giving it to you about you going out with Susan and putting her in the whiteness protection program."

"Well you can see how that turned out when I didn't listen can't you?" Logan asked her. "So are you going to be smart or are you going to be dumb?"

"I'm going to ask one more time if you have any information on the photograph." Max answered.

"Not currently no," Logan answered her, "But I'll get Zach's file back the day after tomorrow and then I can tell you if it's Zach or not."

"Good," Max told him, "Page me when you have something useful. Until then leave me alone."

"Max your being stupid," Logan said outright, " Your going to get yourself killed."

"I have a plan Logan. I'll just go into the next town and create a diversion for them. something that makes them think that I've switched cities," Max answered, "I'll make sure to be careful."

"They won't fall for it, because they know your somewhere in Seattle and the surrounding area. Going more then two towns over is a risk that you can't afford to take right now. all that going into the next town will prove is that you are still in the area and they should keep hunting here."

Max knew that he was right and it was time to admit defeat, but she couldn't give up without a fight. That just wasn't her way. She had to care about what was going on, and she had to find the others. If that meant putting herself at risk then so be it. Max doubted Logan would understand.

"Like I said," Max told him softly as she headed toward the door with the intention of going to the space needle for awhile to think. She needed to think right now. she had information to process. True it wasn't much information, but it was there, and she had to be able to use it somehow.

Logan watched Max walk out of the appartement and sighed as the door closed. It would be so much easier to be close to that girl if she didn't keep pushing people away. Still walking out of his appartement didn't really qualify as something stupid, so he knew she'd expect information about the doctor and his relationship to project Manticore. To bad right now he didn't have any or he might have talked her out of whatever it was that she was going off to do.

When Max had gotten to the top of the Space Needle she sat down and looked down at what was left of the city once more. It had once been so grand. No this wasn't the time to go down that rode again. This was the time to think about the others and the fact that they were out there. They were even in the same country as she was. If she ever found them she knew that they could get out. They could leave and go to a place where they wouldn't be hunted as science experiments, and where people wouldn't look at them and expect things because they wouldn't know that we were any different. Then there was Dr. Poodle, or rather the late Dr. Poodle. Max should have known something was up with him, any doctor named Poodle shouldn't be trusted, in fact no doctor should be trusted in the first place. Did he really know something about project Manticore, or was that just a picture he had? Putting those bar codes on things had been common back before the blast, but that had required computers, and those weren't to useable as of late. It could have been from one of the others, but why would they have let him get close to them. none of us were raised to be trusting we were raised to rely on teamwork. That's why Zach wouldn't let them hold him. He knew what would happen. Max spent another two hours thinking before climbing down because she didn't want to be late to work. Even though she could probably keep herself alive without working for Jam Pony she had something to fall back on if the fencing got to tough.

"Max I got a hot package for you to the riverfront,"Normal yelled as she walked in, "Make sure it gets there within the hour."

Max looked down at her watch. That wasn't really all that much time, sure pretty much everyone on the squad could do it, but it would take fast speed and no delays something that wasn't always reliable in Seattle any more. Max spent the afternoon doing hard runs. Guess the world had it in for her today because she didn't get a choice in them, or the chance to beg someone else into taking them from her. It was going to be a long day.

When Max was done with work, she headed home and changed into darker clothing. It was time for some after hours work. Work that really payed the bills. Work that was much more fun then riding like hell all day for Normal only to come back and get another run. Sketch had only taken two today and he had been on longer then she had today. She had taken a short shift because she wanted to do this after hours.

As Max was heading out of the last job she noticed a women in an alleyway that was getting beat up by a scumbagg and said scumbagg was doing a wonderful job. She was bleeding. Max totally blamed Logan when she realized that she couldn't just walk away from this. This is what was going to get her into trouble.

"You know I hear that guys aren't supposed to hit girls," Max said as she walked into the ally, "If I were you, I'd let the girl go and run before something bad happens."

That's when Max noticed quite a lot of movement behind her. Of course this was a trap for her. How they knew where to set it was beyond her. The she realized that the district she was in had been having crime problems lately and they had made the news. They didn't know why she was involved in good deeds so they just flashed crime on the news and waited for her to come to it. Smarter then she had given them credit for.

Max leapt onto the old fire escape realizing that the blood was fake, and that this was all a set up. Even the girl was an actress and she would be alright. Max ran into the empty building and kept going. She didn't stop. She knew better then to stop. They might find a way to get her if she stopped. If she kept moving she would make it back to her bike. Thank goodness that she had strapped everything she had stolen to her back otherwise they might get ever more helpful information about her, and somehow she didn't think that it would keep her alive.

"Maybe I should start listening to Logan when he says not to do things," Max said as she ran and leapt onto the ground in the next ally and took off. Though slightly disorientated at first she quickly found her way to her motorcycle. Good for her, she had never even heard them get a bullet off. It was a good thing she wore gloves.

Max started to wonder as she drove home if they had any leads on the others, and if they did if they had squads that were always hunting them as well, or if for some reason she was special. She saw no reason for the second, it didn't make sense for that to be true. They had all been created equal. So only 12 had escaped the others hadn't been there at the time. She wondered if the others that hadn't made it out were still alive. Then she thought of the way she thought of herself as a science experiment that went wrong once it had gotten out, the others were a part of that. they most likely were dead. Max returned home still wondering about the others and still wondering how much longer she would be safe in Seattle. It wouldn't last much longer.


	5. New Perspective 5/5

TITLE: New Perspective

AUTHOR: Sarge

E-MAIL: sarge2525@hotmail.com 

RATING: pg-13

SUMMARY: Logan once more asks Max to help him, but this time she has a common interest in the problem.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters. James Cameron, and the other guy who's name I sadly can't remember do. As well as Fox.

  


****Two weeks Later

Max was just heading home from work when her pager suddenly went off and she was forced to find a safe place to stop for awhile where her bike wouldn't get ripped off while she made a phone call. Once a phone was found and she could leave her bike two feet away without any problems she dialed Logan and waited to hear whatever it was he had paged her about.

"Hello?" Logan's voice came from the other end of the line. Max took awhile to respond because she realized with some level of alarm that she had missed him, "Hello?"

"It's me," Max answered, "You paged me what's happening?"

"Come by my place I've got information for you." Logan told her.

"I'll be there in an hour." Max answered hanging up the phone before hanging up the phone. There was no way that she was biking all the way over there. She was going home and getting her motorcycle first.

When Max finally left home and headed to Logan's she noticed an abundance of hover drones heading the other direction. That was one stupid moron to attract so much attention. No wonder Logan wasn't interested in whoever it was, they would have been to easy. Then again for her almost everything was to easy.

Max parked her motorcycle and waited at the bottom for a few minutes thinking. Was this a good thing that she was going to Logan about this, I mean she really should have taken it to the other guy. He at least seemed to know what he was doing in between not finding anything. Well, actually he had no clue what he was doing with her case, but he knew about lost dogs and stuff. No dice there. Max was being stupid. Max headed up the many stairs and when she reached the top she walked in to find Logan sitting right there glaring at the door.

"It's been an hour and half and it's all over the news that they have some dark haired female in custody for the murder of Dr. Poodle."

"To bad for the girl." Max answered, "However Lydecker will know it's not her as soon as he see's her neck so there is no reason to keep her. She'll be fine. Please tell me that isn't what you paged me for."

"The picture, it's of Zach from when he was arrested way back when he was nine or ten." Logan told her, "The doctor had to look him over because it was quite the fight to keep him for the four hours. He noticed something about Zach and had the picture taken to remind him."

"You mean before Zach got out the Dr. already knew something was up with and took the picture to try and ID him." Max surmised, "I see. So what did Dr. Poodle know about Manticore after that?"

"That's not really why he kept the picture." Logan told her, "He guessed that were there was one there were many. It's a good thing you killed him Max because he is another actively hunting your kind. He thinks you can help people. He falls into the science experiment category." 

"So he doesn't know what happened to Zach?" Max demanded. "Did he know anything other then there were these kids with barecodes on their necks running around that he wanted to test?"

"Not that I can find Max." Logan told her. "Acording to his files which I ever so kindly hacked the only one he ever had contact with was Zach, and he didn't even know his real name."

"We are good at giving fake one's. No name that anyone can track us by." Max informed him, "Zach left because of him."

"What are you talking about?" Logan asked her.

"Zach when he broke out he left the state, because he knew about Dr. Poodle. We are good at picking up on things that can be dangerous. He's proabably never used Zach in anything he's done unless he's found some of the others."

"So is Max your real name?" Logan asked her.

"Does it matter?" Max asked him. "It's the name I answer to, but yes it's what the others would call me."

Max noticed that Logan while giving her the information hadn't done anything charactirstically annoying in the last few mintues they had been talking. Other then the slight repremand about making him worry about the police having caught her. That was very unusal. Sure she didn't know Logan that well, but she liked to think she knew him well enough to know that something was wrong.

"So you used your real name, but Zach hasn't?" Logan asked. "Would any of the others have used their names?"

"I don't know," Max answered, "It depends. Some of them maybe. I did. I can only asume what the others chose to do."

"I'll keep that in mind with my search. The doctor never told anyone why he had that picture. He just said it was from someone he had helped once. So no one will link it really."

"What's wrong?" Max asked suddenly, "Don't lie Logan I can tell your not happy about something."

"I hear you had a run in with Lydeckers crew." Logan answered. "It made me realize how much I miss not being able to move around."

"Logan trust me I don't think you wanted to jump onto a two story fire escape to try and get free. Not to mention jump down two buildings over and head for cover."

"See that's exactly one of the reasons I chose this job." Logan told her, "To help people, and that meant getting them places and going to talk to people that can help me directly. Now I call them on the phone and for anything big I have to send you, and in order to that I have to con you into it."

"Logan I promise that someday you can come and help me do whatever it is you want me to do." Max told him, "You just have to get over hights first, and on that track may I mention that having a 20 story apartment building isn't all that conductive to a fear of hights?"

"I just stay away from windows. What is your obbsession with hights?" Logan asked her smirking, "First you leap from tall buildings and then you leap into. What's up with that?"

"Hey, I lept from a two story building to get away from Lydecker. Guess small thinkgs get larger." Max told him. "Don't worry Logan you'll get through this, and go back to being your annoying self all over again."

Max headed out the door if Logan needed her help he'd page her, and she might actually help him, but right now she had to think again. Why in the world was she doing this. 

When Max got to the space needle she sat down and looked out at the city. It had happened. She had to admite it now. She cared. If Logan died she would be upset. If Logan stopped asking for help she would get upset. She had most likely just signed what would turn out to be her death warrent. All Lydecker had to do is steak out Logan's apartment. She'd find herself there eventually. Ok, so Max cared about Logan. Did that really mean anything other then she didn't want him to die? Most likely not right now at least. Then again it hadn't been that bad pretending to be his girlfriend. Sure he was annoying at times with his we have to save humanity thing, but hey it worked out ok in the end because it always brought her closer to the others and they had to be her real goal, because in the end it didn't matter what she thought of Logan. In the end her and the others were just a science project that had gone wrong. 


End file.
